


Paradise Found (The Heart That Made A Family Remix)

by Moonflower999



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Most of the characters and relationships other are in the background., Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-05-31 01:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19415974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonflower999/pseuds/Moonflower999
Summary: On Boxing Day Geoffrey asked Gaius, his life partner of many years to marry him.  Now it's all coming together!Happy Pride!





	Paradise Found (The Heart That Made A Family Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Heart that Made a Family](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16756399) by [harlequin (julie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/pseuds/harlequin). 
  * Inspired by [The Heart that Made a Family](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16756399) by [harlequin (julie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/pseuds/harlequin). 



> Harlequin (Julie), it was a great (and terrifying) honor to dabble in your playground. You were one of the first Merlin writers I read, and I've so loved your stories! I'd love to give a little bit back to you, so I very much hope you enjoy this little gift.
> 
> @MK_Emrys, thank you sooo much for the last minute beta, and the kind encouragment. I can't say how much it helps me get the nerve up to actually post! 
> 
> And dear Mods, thank you for your patience (and lack of guilt-tripping!) You're amazing and this fest is lovely.

**Boxing Day**

It had been a long, joyful and very eventful Boxing Day. Of course, Geoffrey’s proposal to Gaius had stolen the show (even though everyone but Gaius had known it was coming.) Perhaps the bigger surprise was that after a relationship that had lasted for decades, Geoffrey was still able to keep the secret from Gaius. Even more surprising was the fact that not one of their many now-grown foster children had let the cat out of the bag! 

The news of Gwen’s pregnancy had certainly helped distract Gaius from any ‘odd’ vibes he might have picked up. He had simply attributed the extra frisson of excitement in the air to that wonderful news. He had also been rather thrilled and bemused that Gwaine seemed to have finally found authentic love for someone else--the kind that was humbling at the same time as it lifted one’s spirits and inspired the best in a person. Leon seemed a lovely, steady soul, and it was clear that he adored Gwaine. 

At any rate, after all these years, at this time of life, he wasn’t really expecting any big surprises. Gaius beamed with joy, basking in the bustle of their Boxing Day visitors. He was never happier than when the family he and Geoffrey had nurtured were all gathered around them.

The leftovers had been packed away into care packages (Arthur could never get enough of Gaius’ roast, while Mordred had a terrible sweet tooth and longed for Geoffrey’s puddings. Lance tried to eat healthy, but he could never say no to a cold ham sandwich. And of course Merlin always went home with the leftover nutloaf.) 

Soon the leave-takings began, and the house was quiet again. By the time everyone had headed home, Gaius and Geoffrey had discovered that the plans for their wedding were already well under way, and that they really could leave most of it up to their fledglings. In fact, as soon as Geoffrey had informed the family he’d be asking Gaius to marry him the texts and phone calls between all of their foster children and extended family had begun.

Morgana excelled at organizing spectacular events. She had come to dinner armed with pamphlets from three fantastic venues. After dessert she had pulled out her laptop, and had started to ask questions...favorite colors, favorite music, favorite foods, etc. It soon became clear that the only detail that really mattered to the two was to be married in the presence of their loved ones; they were more than happy to leave the practical planning up to the others.

A great deal of the planning took place online with long email threads which became really annoying when someone forgot to cut out all the repetitive stuff before forwarding. Even more annoying were the emails when someone cut out too much and sent a list to the group saying something like, “I think that’s a great idea,” or “No, that just won’t work,” and everyone had to trace back through tens of emails to figure out what that person was talking about. (Lance and Morris were the winners of the Failure to Trim award, while Gwaine and Will had achieved top rank in the Failure to Provide Context rankings. And yes, Morgana, had already designed certificates for them.) Still, marvelous plans had come together and this weekend everyone was pitching in to create the magic. For the most part, Gaius and Geoffrey were in the dark about most of the details.

**A Worthy Cause**

On an early summer afternoon a few days before their wedding, Gaius and Geoffrey left to travel to a lovely inn about an hour from their home. Arthur and Morgana had arranged it all and billed it as a pre-honeymoon retreat, featuring a stay in a romantic suite with a view of the little river that ran through the charming seaside village, and luxury salon appointments so the men would be meticulously groomed for their wedding. Meanwhile, everyone had their assignments and a flurry of wedding preparations began at both Gaius and Geoffrey’s home and at Uther’s estate, where the actual wedding ceremony and reception would take place. 

Returning from a ‘detoxifying massage’ (whatever that was) Gaius found Geoffrey sitting on the edge of the bed sporting his classic I-have-something-I need-to-tell-you look. Gaius sighed and said, “Come on, Geoff, spit it out before you choke on it.”

Geoffrey reached out and pulled Gaius over to sit beside him on the bed. “It’s nothing awful...nothing big at all, but I know you’ll be disappointed...Uther called while you were at the spa. He is really sorry, but he said he’ll be out of town until very late the night before the ceremony.”

“Do you think he regrets inviting us to have the wedding at his?” Gaius searched Geoffrey’s face to better discern the truth.

“Oh no! He’s very excited. He said we are all welcome to gather there whenever we want to. The guest rooms are all set, and full staff will be on hand for whatever we need.”

Gaius furrowed his brow. “That’s too bad. I was hoping we three could spend a little time alone together before the kids all arrive. It’s been a while. I do miss him.”

Geoffrey caressed Gaius’ shoulder and ran his fingers across his cheek. “I know, love. I miss him too. But when you hear why he’s gone for the week, I think you’ll approve.”

“What’s going on then? Where is he?”

“He’s gone to London, and has a very full schedule. He’s meeting with politicians and other big wigs, demanding that parliament make an official condemnation of the way the government of our strongest ally is committing crimes against humanity in it’s treatment of asylum seekers. He is determined to convince them that we must not let history repeat itself.”

Gaius’ eyes filled with tears as he beamed with pride.”Yes, well then, the sacrifice of a little alone time is the least we can contribute to the cause!” 

Geoffrey gently chucked his mate under the chin. “Chin up love. He promised us a whole week together once we’ve settled in to our new lives together as a married couple.” Geoffrey repeated Uther’s comment with just exactly the dry irony Uther so excelled at. “He misses us too...said it’s been much too long, and he can’t wait to wake up to the smell of your burning the toast and my cold hands against his ribs.”

They both laughed heartily at the ridiculousness of it all, and then fell into a long gaze of sheer contentment. Gaius grasped both of Geoffrey’s hands in his own. “It’s amazing, isn’t it Geoff? What we’ve lived through, what we’ve created and shared, and what joys we still have to live. I couldn’t be happier.”

“Nor I, darling. I have more than I ever dreamed could be mine, and it is a wonderful thing.”

**Preparations**

Like Mother Hubbard’s shoe, Gaius and Geoffrey’s home had been bursting at the seams for quite a few years. Overall it was in good shape now that Arthur, Mordred and some of the others were earning nice salaries and helped pay for the home repairs that Elyan, Gwaine, and Morris weren’t able to take care of themselves. Merlin’s green thumb came in handy, and Gaius was deeply grateful for his help as the garden was becoming a bit more than they could handle alone. 

As sunset approached two days before the wedding, Arthur pulled up into the lane behind the cottage. Merlin found he couldn’t wait any longer and jumped out to run and greet Hunith who had arrived in England the night before. It had been months since he’d seen his mum, and he was quite impatient to wrap his arms around her. Arthur grinned to himself as Merlin dashed inside, and he puttered around with the car a bit to give Merlin and Hunith a few moments alone together before he grabbed their bags and strolled through the gardens and into the house. As little as they sometimes saw her, Hunith had been the closest thing to a mother for Arthur, and he was also very eager to see her again.

“Arthur, my boy! You look very well!” Hunith released Merlin’s hand and opened her arms to Arthur for a hug. Arthur slid into her arms and hugged her back. 

“It’s so good to see you, Hunith.You’ll be staying for a while now, Merlin said?”

“Yes, love. With all the telecommuting these days there’s really no longer any reason I have to travel quite so much. One of the perks of moving up in the company is that I finally have some say in how I do my job. The new arrangement is that I’ll spend four to six weeks at one of the international headquarters every year, and then spend a week to ten days at some of our other facilities a couple of times a year.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. And you should know that Merlin…”

“Shush, Arthur! So mum, what should we have for dinner?”

Hunith resumed her seat next to Merlin and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Now now, do let Arthur finish his story!”

Arthur grinned smugly at Merlin who just huddled against his mother and pouted.

“Well, you should know that Merlin was waiting for me at the door when I got home from my last job the day you gave him the news. He’d gone home early and spent hours looking for flats and cottages for you. He was so excited that he couldn’t sleep for half the night and kept waking me up to talk to babble at me. We’re both really happy we’ll have you near!”

The tips of Merlin’s ears had gone quite red, but he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity for payback. “Yes, well, it’s true, but Arthur is leaving out the part where I had to stop him from putting down a deposit on a place for you, since I figured you’d want a say in where you’re going to settle.”

Hunith’s eyes filled with happy tears as she hugged both her boys. 

Merlin drew away first saying, “It’s almost seven. I have to go pick Will up at the station.”

The next day Merlin and Will worked over every inch of Gauis’ garden. “If I’d known a wedding was in the offing I would have talked Gaius into planting the herb lawn for the bees next year. Unfortunately, it’s not nearly established enough to survive all the trampling a wedding reception would bring,” grumbled Merlin.

“It’s probably for the best, mate,” said Will, “Uther’s got servants, and butlers, and such to help clean up after! He’s also got plenty of room for anyone who is too tipsy to drive home, and if it rains there’s plenty of space indoors.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s also nice that he was able to get his estate approved as a venue, so we don’t have to travel to the reception after the ceremony. You know what though, I’m going to gather some of Gaius’ favourite herbs and we can use them amidst the flowers decorating the arbor they’ll be married under,” said Merlin, suddenly more cheerful. This cozy home that Gaius and Geoffrey had created had given Merlin a strong feeling of being solid and grounded, and he wanted the two men who had shared that with him to have something symbolic of their home present during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Hunith cleaned the house from top to bottom, while Lance and Gwen shopped for fresh linens, a new tea kettle, and a few other things to spiff up the well-loved but somewhat shabby home. A big planter full of summer blooming flowers was placed at each side of the front door, and some gourmet ingredients for their first few meals after the wedding were loaded into the fridge. Finally, they went down the list of items that were needed for the wedding, loaded everything into Arthur’s and Gwen’s cars, and headed to Uther’s home.

**Cake and Curfew**

They arrived at Uther’s to find Morgana supervising as Elyan, Gwaine and Kara were putting the finishing touches on a lovely temporary arbor that the grooms would stand under. A large and extraordinarily luxourious tent had been erected for the reception, complete with lovely table settings and fairy lights. The flowers were to arrive early the next morning, and Merlin had decided to place sprigs of Gaius’ herbs in the flower arrangements as well as in the flowers of the arbor where the ceremony would take place. 

Leon had no small skill in cooking and baking, and had offered up his services as sous chef to Percival, who was a talented baker. Luckily, because Percy was one of the gang, they bypassed the months-long waiting list that Percival’s cakes usually demanded. Percy had baked the layers of cake in his bakery, and had brought the cake and the icings and fillings with him, but the actual construction and decoration of the elegant three tier creation was taking place in Uther’s spacious and well-equipped kitchen. The oohs and ahs of the admirers when they came in to grab a cup of coffee or an ice water were satisfying, though Leon had to swat thieving fingers away from the icing and paste flowers more than once.

Morgause was set up at the kitchen table with her laptop. The table occupied a sunny alcove with a bay window overlooking the garden where the outdoor preparations were taking place. As an interfaith minister and Druidic priestess, everyone agreed she’d make a wonderful wedding officiant.

Although Uther was still out of town, his staff had made everyone very welcome. And after all, perhaps it had been a little more relaxed to make messes in his kitchen and drag boxes and bundles through his house in his absence.

Finally, by late afternoon all but the very last minute preparations were done. Gaius and Geoffrey arrived and were delighted and overwhelmed with how beautiful everything was. Once they settled in, there was a short rehearsal led by Morgause, and followed by a rather raucous informal dinner. 

At ten o’clock Morgana enforced a strict curfew, insisting that she didn’t want the photos ruined by the wedding party’s lack of sleep.

**A Welcome Visitor**

Geoffrey was reading in bed, and Gaius was fussing a bit with their outfits for the ceremony when there was a quiet tap at their door. Gaius shot Geoffrey a quick grin and went to open the door and drag Uther in. Uther embraced Gaius, dropped a kiss on his white hair, strode over to the bed to kiss Geoffrey, and then perched on the edge of the armchair near the window beaming at these two who were so dear to him. The three caught up for a short while. Uther checked to see that they were well-satisfied with all of the arrangements, and then rose to leave them to get their rest.

“Won’t you stay, dear?” asked Geoffrey.

“Yes, do please,” invited Gaius.

But Uther shook his head, kissed each one soundly, and promised them a nice long visit in the very near future.

**Wedding Day Dawns**

Gaius woke to greet the dawn of a spectacularly beautiful June day. He sat by the open window breathing in the morning air. Finally he turned back to the bed and watched his sleeping lover as tears of gratitude washed his cheeks. Geoffrey woke and reached for him, and Gaius slid back into bed and into Geoff’s arms. They were both too excited to stay still for long, and rose from bed and began to prepare for the day.

**The Ceremony**

The wedding ceremony was wonderful in all the best ways. Morgause had talked to several members of the family and met with Gaius and Geoffrey to discuss their relationship, their family, and their feelings about finally being able to marry. She’d gotten a strong sense of each of the men and of the breadth and depth of their relationship to each other. With a laser focus and a fabulous sense of poetry she’d written a beautiful ceremony that captured the essence of the love and devotion that their relationship encompassed.

The ceremony itself was a ritual comprised of not just words, but symbolic actions as well. There was a traditional handfasting, as well as an exchange of vows, but Gaius and Geoffrey both found that their very favorite part of the ceremony was the Ring Warming. Before the exchange of vows and the donning of the rings, Morgause had each member of their extended family hold the ring for a few moments and say a few words- sharing their love, their gratitude. and a wish or a blessing for the couple. The blessing ranged from tender and sweet to slightly raunchy and ribald, and the ceremony brought everyone to both laughter and tears several times. Finally Morgause took the rings, holding them while Geoffrey and Gaius read their vows to each other.

Geoffrey began. 

_“Gaius,_

_My dearest love, y_ _ou have brought more joy and meaning to my life than I could ever have imagined possible on that long ago day when you rushed into my bookshop looking for a book on some odd herb. Tansy, wasn’t it?_

_You dashed in like a clap of thunder, and while you were so focused that you never noticed I couldn’t take my eyes off of you, you handled every book you touched with reverence. Within those first few minutes I knew that if it were in my power I’d keep you with me for the rest of my life._

_I never thought to have children. Growing up when we did it did not seem possible for men like us. I think because I never expected it to be possible I began to think it was something I did not want. Silly me. I’m so very glad you paid me no mind at all, because sharing my life with you and these now-grown brats has brought me much more joy than I ever deserved. I love them fiercely, but we all know I love you best, and they are generous enough to allow me that._

_Will you be my husband, dear? Now and forevermore.”_

Surprisingly, neither one got teary-eyed. Instead they found themselves simply grinning at each other. And Gaius found that, contrary to his expectations, he was not nervous at all as he spoke. 

_“My Geoffrey,_

_Of course I will be your husband._

_I was yours from the day you came into my apothecary, took your headache remedy out of my hand, set it back on the shelf, and confessed to me that you had never had a headache in your life. I’ll never forget the way you took both my hands in yours and asked if you could kiss me._

_Back then I couldn’t have imagined a day when two men could be legally married surrounded by family and friends. But that is how it’s all been...all these years together...one blessing after another that I had never known possible. Together we have created quite a wonderful life._

_I am awed at the journey we are on, and more than anything, the way that you have never chained our love, or treated it as a limited commodity._

_Will you be my husband, now and forevermore?”_

“I will! Oh yes, I will!” replied Geoffrey, as he stepped forward and kissed Gaius a little bit ahead of schedule. 

Even the usually unflappable Morgause broke into a grin and joined in the applause. Then she held the rings up high and said, “These rings, which carry with them the love and blessings of your loved ones, will forever show the world you are joined in marriage. Blessed be.”

  


**The Return Home**

Gaius pulled their ancient Volkswagen mini-bus into the drive. It had been lovingly restored by Elyan some years ago, and was not just beloved, but rather functional as both Gaius and Geoffrey both had bundles and parcels, boxes of books or glass phials full of tinctures and tonics to lug around.

Geoffrey handed Gaius a large flower arrangement from the wedding, and picked up the insulated bag full of enough gourmet feast leftovers to feed them for at least a few days. “Let’s unload the rest after lunch,” he said, balancing the insulated bag on the car while grasping for their house key.

“Geoff, put that down for a moment?” Gaius requested, as he set the flowers on the garden path. “We’ve lived here for a long time, but I’d like to experience this moment, entering this house of love that we have created carrying nothing but ourselves, hand in hand, finally married after all these many years.”

Geoffrey’s eyes shone. He placed the bag next to the flowers and took Gaius’s hand in his. “You old romantic fool. I didn’t know you had it in you to sweep me off my feet.”

“Hrmmph.”

“Ok, I’m lying. You sweep me off my feet all the time, with a simple smile or a quirk of your head towards the bedroom door.” Geoffrey tugged Gaius towards the front door and opened it. By unspoken agreement they stood in the doorway savoring the moment. 

Finally, Gaius stepped forward, pulled Geoffrey over the threshold and into his arms, and kissed him. “Welcome home my dear husband.”

Geoffrey sighed contentedly. “Welcome to the rest of our lives dear husband.”

They kissed again and then headed back out to retrieve all the paraphernalia they had lugged to Uther’s for the wedding. They made a nice supper of all the lovely leftovers from the reception. Geoffrey retrieved candles and candle holders while Gaius began to set the food on the dining table.

“What’s this I wonder?” said Gaius. At the center of the table there was a large envelope addressed to them in Arthur’s handwriting.

“Hmm?”

“There’s something here for us from Arthur.”

“Oh, yes. I forgot! Merlin and Arthur told me that we’d find a surprise waiting for us when we returned home. I wonder what it is...you never know with those boys.” Geoffrey placed the tapers on the table and lit them with a match. Then scooted over to watch as Gaius opened the envelope and removed several photographs. They both wore identical perplexed expressions as they flipped through photo after photo of a lovely house. 

“I know that house,” said Gaius. “It’s just outside the village.”

Geoffrey shook the envelope and a small note dropped out. 

*******

**_Please welcome your new neighbors!_ **

_Mr. Arthur Pendragon and Mr. Merlin Emrys are now the proud owners of the Perkins’ estate._

_They have chosen to relocate here as they will soon be married and intend to raise a family._

_I_ _t has been reported that there is nowhere they would even consider living other than close to their nearest and dearest._

_They know that the two men who gave them so much will be glad to guide them and be grandfathers to the children they hope for._

_Meanwhile, they are eager to share Sunday dinners and Wednesday night card games, and are looking forward to shopping_

_expeditions, pawing through Geoffrey’s books and helping Gaius with the garden._

*******

Gaius sat down on the chair he’d been leaning on. “They’re coming home,” he whispered.

Now Geoffrey’s eyes were filled with tears. “I had thought I could want for nothing more.”

They looked at each other, both wondering how it was possible to hold so much joy.

Later that evening as they unpacked their bags, Gaius found a wedding gift Uther had slipped into his valise. The gift wrap was sumptuous--no surprise there--but the effort at wrapping had been clumsy at best. Uther must have wrapped the gift himself! Gaius called Geoffrey over and they sat on the bed and opened the gift together. As Geoffrey carefully removed the tape from the packaging a length of the finest dark chocolate brown silk slithered to the floor. Gaius retrieved it and held up an exquisite robe of the finest silk. The package also held matching pajamas and the same combination in a gorgeous shade of blue. The note was hidden beneath the cloth, written on Uther’s personalized stationery.

_Dearest Geoff and G,_

_You both know how I feel about you. As much as I miss you, I want you to have these first nights together in your new status all for yourselves. I hope you enjoy these trifles. I know you’ll each be utterly irresistible in them...which is really the point I suppose. So though I won’t be there with you tonight, I promise I’ll be thinking of you, and I do hope when we see each other in a few weeks, you’ll wear these for me._

_Ever yours,_

_Uther_

Gaius folded the note and handed it to Geoffrey who laid it carefully in the top dresser drawer. Geoffrey turned back to Gaius who was running the blue silk through his hands. “Should we put these on tonight? Are you very tired?”

“No, no. Not at all. Let’s do put these on,” he said. 

The two men changed into the silk: Geoffrey in the rich brown and Gaius in the burgundy. Geoffrey reached over to lift his mobile from the nightstand and waved it at Gaius. “Shall we send him a photo before we muss these lovely duds up?” he asked.

Gaius smiled and slid next to Geoffrey, close up against his side. They grinned into the camera, and Geoffrey snapped the shot and sent it to Uther. Without waiting for a reply, he turned off his mobile and set it back on the nightstand, then turned to his best friend, his lover, his husband, and took him into his arms. Gaius reached over and turned off the bedside light, then turned back and caressed his partner through the soft, smooth whisper of fine silk. Geoffrey shivered with pleasure and returned the attention.

“I’ve thought of a name for the house,” said Gaius. (Elyan had asked his foster fathers to name the house so that he could create a plaque for them.)

“Hmmm....,” said Geoffrey, taking a break from sliding his lips over Gaius’ silk-clad shoulder. 

“Paradise Found,” said Gaius, ending with a little moan as Geoffrey pressed his body closer.

“That is perfect,” said Geoffrey.

And it was.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive any inaccuracies in terms of British rules about weddings!
> 
> Thanks to everyone in Merlin Chatzy for the friendship, the encouragement to write, the brainstorming, the threats. You are all wonderful.
> 
> If anyone reading this would like a place to come chat, make friends who love Merlin, etc, check out Merlin Chat on Chatzy! It's a really wonderful group of people of all ages from all around the world! We do a Merlin rewatch of an episode almost every Friday. https://merlin-writers.livejournal.com/26549.html
> 
> And finally, (don't make me beg :) ) but I do really appreciate comments if it doesn't stress you out too much to leave one!


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